


Heart Strings (Marco's POV)

by MadelineAmyJayne



Series: Heart Strings [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/F, F/M, Heart Strings (Maddy's POV), M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-02-16 16:08:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2276052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadelineAmyJayne/pseuds/MadelineAmyJayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco Bodt is a lonely guy who is just about to leave college and go on a gap year before his next educational life experience. However, on his last day he becomes envious of a small group he notices in a hallway. To his luck, fate then makes him meet a member of the group, who then invites him to 'hang out'. As he starts to get to know them and forms a band called 'wings of freedom' he finally realises his true feelings towards one particular member of the group; Jean.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Similarities

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco is walking around college campus for the last time, when he notices a small group saying their goodbyes.

The school bell rang to symbolise – for many – the beginning of summer vacation. For me though, this is my last time here at Maria College. I’m going on a gap year this summer to study for university. Here I go, leaving again.

I had only recently moved here to Trost. To be fair, I never stayed anywhere too long. I haven’t made any new friends in this area yet, not that I had many were I used to live before. Accept Reiner - he’d even given me a going away gift. I didn’t even know how to play a guitar, but I guess he put a lot of thought into it.

But honestly, I doubt many people here would want me interfering with their plans, besides I hadn’t been here long enough to be involved all too much. My geography professor wished us all the best and opened the door, for the stampede to leave.

I walked through the corridors alone, passing large groups of people saying goodbye to their friends for the last time. My eyes flew over them, curious. However, when I reached the double-doors at the front of A-block (the main building in Maria College) I noticed one small friendship group in-particular of five, gathering and saying goodbyes. Something was different about this lot, but I just couldn’t work out what. Truth be told, I envied them.

_They seem so close, so … familiar._

As I was about to walk out I heard the taller guy from this little group (which I recognised from chemistry) shout down the hall in my direction.

“What the hell are you doing here Yaeger?” He asked, with quite an annoyed tone. _Is he talking to me?_

I turned to see a kid, kind of ‘strutting’ down the corridor. _Not me…_

Why did I feel so disappointed at that?

The guy honestly didn’t seem give a damn what that guy thought of him and put his arms around two of the member of that group: A girl, brunette, and another guy, who appeared completely bold, and leaned in to their conversation.

I left the hallway then; I couldn’t just sit there and stare at them, no matter how bad I wanted that friendship. _Geez, Marco. Pull yourself together, that’s creepy._

Since I had moved here, I hadn’t given much thought to anything other than my studies, given the fact I had to take all the tests at once, after I had moved last minute. But now I realised, I was painfully lonely. Maybe the freedom of a gap year will mean the opportunity to find a group like that of my own. Perhaps even a relationship? _Okay Marco, now you’re dreaming._ I laughed at my empty suggestions.

I was squished in between two rather large girls in the bus stop. I swear I could’ve screamed I felt so uncomfortable. It’s not like I wanted to be there – the old bus stunk, and never arrived on time. I would drive myself, but - although I am seventeen - I haven’t quite passed my driving test yet. In fact, I had tried several times, but I kept panicking and messed it up somehow. I have to catch this sweaty-hell known as a bus.

I was trying to zone out of that horrible situation, when I noticed the group from earlier. _Hard to_ _miss, because of one them had pink hair!_ They were heading over to the car park. I squirmed my way free from the two girls and stood to the edge of the stop to get a better look. _Marco, what the hell are you doing, you can’t just spy on people you don’t know!_ But the more my conscience tried to persuade me not to look, the more curious I became.

I saw them split off into different cars, well four of them. Two of them remained at the edge of the pathway. _I guess they can’t or don’t know how to drive yet. At least I’m not the only one._ With a blink of an eye one of the two (the bold guy) had moved, making a dash a black mini where another girl from the group was stood. I saw the sadness of the abandoned pink-haired girl, as she would probably have to catch the bus.

For some reason I felt a dash of excitement. _I_ _might get a chance to actually talk to one of them?_

Suddenly, the brunette from before had opened her passenger side door, shouting across something like; “I’ll give you a lift”. That tugged at my stomach - that is TRUE friendship right there. I felt longing in my heart. Perhaps concentrating so hard on my studies wasn’t such a good plan.

My thoughts were discarded as the loud screech of the rust-bucket known as the bus pulled up beside me. This would be the last time I’d have to get on this smelly old thing. _THANK GOD!_ I stumbled up the steps and flopped in a seat near a window, continuing to watch the group as they were shouting out of their car windows to each other.

There were a few sudden jolts as the bus started to move, an even worse one as we came to a halting stop, trying to avoid crashing into two boy racers (who were determined to beat each other out of the gates.). I couldn’t believe I was turning my back on part of my life. By this point, I, Marco Bodt was way too familiar to these types of events: leaving places behind.

The whole journey home, I kept thinking about that friendship group. I don’t know why, but I felt like it was fate that I saw them, like something was meant to happen.

When the bus reached its last stop I got off and had to walk down the road to my small flat in Rose apartments. By this time, the rain was pouring down, although my trip was short, I got absolutely soaked by rainwater. I mumbled to myself. _This sucks._

I got to the door of room 12 and pulled out my keys from my back pocket. I heard the click of the bolt, as the lock was undone. I pushed the white wooden door and slammed it shut. I sighed and slid down the door with my back.

My apartment was pretty bare, because I didn’t share it with anyone, there wasn’t much stuff around. The images of today flashed through my mind. I had a touch of desperation pull at my heart; No matter where I went I was alone.

I glanced over near the TV and noticed my Xbox. _Joy; another weekend of gaming… all by myself._

 

 


	2. Chords

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco finally meets a member of the group he's been envious of.

The days passed quicker than I expected, and before I knew it the weekend had rolled around; Sunday morning. I hadn’t slept that well the night before due the constant buzzing sound that was trapped in my brain after the endless hours on solo-player Call of Duty. I rolled over to my phone to check the time and to my surprise, I had a text in my inbox.

 

**From Mum:**

**Morning sweetie! Seeing as you’ve broken up from college don’t go playing games to god-knows how late at night, get a new hobby going for your gap year and MAKE SOME NEW FRIENDS! Lots of love, mum xxx**

 

_New hobby huh? Not such a bad idea. Beats gaming alone any day! A few friends sound good too…_

I pulled out my laptop from my drawer and powered it up. I need some place to start, right?

 

I loaded the internet, ignoring the adverts flashing on the right side of the screen, typed in ‘What to do over gap year’ into the search engine. Within an instant, thousands of results had flashed up. A majority I couldn’t take seriously. These included: ‘party hard’ and ‘get high’ etc. _Don’t think that’s the kind of hobby mum had in mind…_

I kept scrolling for about ten minutes until my eyes met with a video link. It was a teenager, playing the guitar, giving out demonstrations and covers of well-known songs in the charts.

“Hmm...” I thought aloud.

 

I abandoned my laptop and raided through my boxes of junk in the spare room, in search of the leaving gift my old friend, Reiner, had given me before I moved here. Despite the amount of crap scattered around the room I eventually found it. Resting in the corner of my spare room was my large guitar case. I pulled it out into the open space of the lounge and blew away the dust that had formed on the surface. _I hadn’t actually opened it yet!_

A label was hung from a piece of string tied to the zip of the case. On close inspection I realised it was a note:

**Yo Marco, don’t go rocking too hard ;)**

I instantly recognized the hand-writing as Reiner’s, the message actually made me laugh a bit. I pulled the zip of the case all the way around and sighed before lifting the lid. To my horror, I found the crimson guitar was string-less! I then discovered another note poking out of a pocket in the lining of the case. It read:

**By the way, you need to get your own strings.**

_Gee, Thanks Reiner._

After the string tragedy I decided it would be a good idea to go get some from a nearby shop named ‘ _Harmony’_ I had walked past several times on the way to Maria. So, at 1:00 I headed off into town. It took me about twenty-five minutes to reach the porch-step of the shop. _I’d never realise it was such a long trip._

I walked in and a small bell rang as I entered the shop. I looked up to notice a tiny silver bell dangling above the doorframe. Bringing my face back down to look around the shop, a guy probably not much older than me, had peaked his head around the corner.

“Hi! Welcome to _Harmony._ My names Berthold.” I didn’t respond partly shocked by this guy’s kindness. “Can I help you in anyway?” he questioned. At that point, I smiled and walked over.

“Yeah, I got given a guitar as a gift, but the bastard didn’t give me any strings.” He laughed and pointed over to the far wall, with large letters above spelling ‘Strings’. _How didn’t you see this Marco?_ I walked over, searching for the type I needed however I got distracted by a nearby CD rack, containing countless _My Chemical Romance_ albums. _They are my favourite!_

I bent down to look at the lower shelves, each containing more and more CDs. As I was crouched down, I heard the bell of shop door ring again, and the owner Berthold announce his little ‘speech’ again. _Does he do that every time someone walks in?_ I thought nothing of it until I heard the footsteps come over to my direction. I stood back up to see who it was. A girl, brunette was heading towards me scanning the shelves. She seemed familiar, although it seemed she hadn’t even notice me. Her expression changed, one eyebrow slightly raised as if she was taking on a challenge, as I saw her reach the base of the shelf. Her arm raised and she leant all her weight on her tip-toes, her fingers slightly wiggling trying to get a packet from the top. I suddenly recognised her from the little group in Maria.

 

_Yeah, the people you are now STALKING._

 

I quickly turned back to face the shelf of CD’s debating either or not to help her but when I heard a concerning noise, I quickly returned my attention to the girl. She was wobbling uncontrollably. I saw her fall in my direction. _Crap._

I felt a body lean against mine as there was a loud boom as we fell to the floor and I saw her almost bounce off of me on to the CD rack, smacking her head with some force, knocking a few CD’s loose to fall to the floor. She pulled up a hand to the back of her head, tilting her head slightly forward, eyes closed. _That looked like it hurt_. I jumped up back to my feet and walked in her direction, arm outstretched.

“Hey, are you okay?” I softly said, trying not to startle her. The girls hazel eyes snapped open immediately. She didn’t say anything, just gave a slight nod as she reached for my hand. She gripped her fingers around my palm and I helped pull her back up to her feet. “You gave me a bit of a bump there.” I joked. Her face suddenly went into shock: _she must had realised I was the person she fell into_.

“Oh Jesus!” She said “I’m so sorry!”

I smiled. “So you can talk? What happened?” I asked, quite concerned that she was okay.

“I was trying to get replacement strings fo-“. I cut her off before she could finish.

“Oh cool you play?” I smiled at her, bright eyed. I didn’t really care that she bumped into me, something about her just seemed likable.

“Well, kind of. I’m practicing bass guitar again but I broke my string” she sighed “I was trying to get those ones up there but couldn’t reach and fell into you...”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I reached up retrieving the strings she pointed to “Here!” she seemed kind of surprised that I could reach up to the top shelf. As I passed her the packet of strings she gave me a large grateful smile. _Is everyone in this shop this friendly?_

 

“What’s your name then?” I asked as I knelt down beginning to clear the mess of CDs from the shop floor. Soon enough she replied whilst helping me pack away the pile.

“Maddy. What about you?” _She’s definitely who I think she is._

“Maddy. Huh? A lot of people call me ‘freckles’ but my actual name is Marco”. I caught glimpse of her trying to hold back a laugh from my ridiculous nickname I was given by Reiner.

“I’ve just started a gap year, so was looking to pass the time” I continued.

“Oh! No way, so have we!” she replied, then realising I didn’t know who _we_ were she carried on “well, me and my mates anyway”.

“Bet you’re enjoying the time off! I know I am.” Putting away the last CD I remembered the text message I received from mum earlier in the day: ‘make new friends’. I was pretty nervous to ask but I plucked up my courage. _Worth a shot I guess._

“I was just about to grab a coffee from Starbucks, after I get these guitar strings, care to join me?” Her face seemed to light up after hearing the offer.

“Sure!” She said, rather enthusiastically. Something glimmered in her eyes. She was planning something I didn’t know what, but she seemed too friendly for it to be bad. We purchased the strings for the two different instruments and headed off down the road towards the coffee shop, shoulder to shoulder.

 

_Mission Accomplished Marco._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading again :) Again, sorry for any grammar errors, stay tuned :P


	3. Companionship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco finally meets the group, but shit hits the fan.

After reaching the doorway to the shop, I decided to be a _gentleman_ (just like my dearest mother would’ve wanted) and hold open the door for Maddy as she walked in and chose a table near the corner. As soon as the door swung shut I noticed the potent smell of coffee granules attack my nose. I didn’t sit down, just asked Maddy what she wanted and ordered it for us. Returning to the table I smiled at her.

“So you’re learning to play bass again? How come?” I asked.

“Oh. A friend of mine suggested me and a couple of mates should start a band, problem is we don’t have a guitarist...” I noticed she glanced down at the table as her words trailed off. She seemed really disappointed about it, so I thought I would offer my new guitar skills.

“You know... I play guitar, if you’re searching for someone I could fill in for you, if like you like want me to an-“

“Really?!” She interrupted “That would be awesome!”

“You sure? I wouldn’t be butting in or anything? I wouldn’t want to upset-“.

“Yes, I’m sure. The guys will love you! I mean Megan loves new people, and Connie is so laid back – So long as you don’t have anything else planned with your friends.” _Friends?_ Pfft you got to be kidding me, but, _Play it cool Marco._

“Well, actually. I just moved here so I don’t have many friends around.” _More like NONE_ “It would be awesome if I could hang out your lot, they sound pretty cool” I replied.

“Marco, I think you just made my day!” She responded, a massive smile stretching across her face and I reflected her smile.

“Wow, I don’t think anyone has wanted me to be there friend so bad.” I saw her laugh after I said that. 

 

She attempted to explain what everyone was like.

“So Megan’s got bright pink hair, and she’s crazy. But she does all this art stuff which is cool and Connie is like the biggest prankster ever, but he’s so friendly. Sasha is defiantly the one who likes food, but then Jean… well he’s Jean.” I smiled. _Yeah, sounds perfect to me._

I began to talk to Maddy about my family and life before I moved to Trost; stuff like my old college, family and just basic Marco facts. I noticed her glance at her phone a few times, but rather than be nosey I just kept talking. We continued do so for a while until I heard a quiet buzz and saw Maddy reach for her pocket.

 

She returned her attention to me as I tried to guzzle coffee down as discretely as possible.

“Hey Marco?”

“Hmm?” I replied a mouth full of my drink.

“Got any plans for 6 o’clock tonight?” she questioned “you can come and meet everyone!”

I swallowed my mouthful and gave a small laugh.

“Sure, why not!” At that moment I pulled out my phone. “Could I get your number so I could get you to pick me up to wherever were going?” I saw her look straight at me slightly blushing, I guess she forgot I had no idea where we were going.

“Yeah, ‘course”.

 

I tapped in her number as quickly as possible. Just as I finished a message flashed up on her screen. I tried to take a sneaky look at who the message was from, but got caught red handed.

“It’s Meg” she said.

“Ah, Pink one” I joked giving her a friendly smile.

I saw her expression change as she read the message. I had to query what was going on.

“What’s up?” I asked, trying to make it seem more worried than nosey.

“I have no idea.” She giggled “I’ll let you know later. But I’m afraid I’m going to have to call her about this” she continued to smile.

 

I glanced down at my wrist to check the time. _Shit!_ I had completely lost track of time talking to Maddy and now was worried I was going to be late for my landlord who was collecting rent today.

I just used the excuse that I had to attach my guitar strings for tonight, which must have sparked a memory in Maddy’s head because she was soon out of her chair. We walked out of the café door together and separated halfway down the street as Maddy headed over to a car park. I waved her goodbye and headed off towards the way I came, a slight spring in my step. I then turned my head to shout back to Maddy about the travel arrangements for tonight, but she was far too occupied on a phone call. _I’ll text her later._

A few hours later, I thought it would have been a good idea to drop Maddy a text. I worded it wisely, a first text to a new friend was ridiculously important in my books.

 

**To Maddy:**

**Hey Maddy!** **Just wondered if I should walk to yours and then you could give me that lift. Hate to ask but I haven’t passed my driving test yet…**

Once I hit the send button I regretted putting the driving test information, partly worried Maddy would take the mick a bit, but to my relief she didn’t seem to care.

 

**From Maddy:**

**Np freckles ;) busy fighting with my strings atm, but you come here that’d be great. I live @ Sina apartment block room 24. If you call me when you get here I’ll meet you at the front door!** **  
**

I laughed to myself. _Freckles? That names going to stick no matter where I am._ I then realised the address she had given me. Sina apartments? I tapped in a reply to her.

 

**To Maddy:**

**Omg no way! I live in the Rose apartments down the street! I’ll be at yours in no time at all. See you soon! :D**

I grabbed my nearby converses, slid them over my feet and tied the laces. I retrieved my coat from the hanger in the porch and had left the flat the minute the text was sent. Walking down the road, hands in pockets and coat zipped up, I headed towards Maddy’s building whilst I kept trying to picture the members of the group from the little memory I had of them. They had all seemed to just fit together, despite their different characters, they were like perfect friends.

 

Soon enough I was at the gate to the Sina apartment block. I pulled out my phone and rang Maddy. The call was answered rather swiftly. I kept hearing rustling in the background. _She’s not ready._

“Damn, you weren’t kidding about the ‘no time at all’” she joked.

I laughed. “Yeah I’m a quick walker, you ready?”

I heard a door shut on the otherside of the call. “On my way down.”

 

About two minutes later, I heard the large door open. I glanced over and realised it was Maddy. I smiled at her as a type of greeting and stood up after leaning against the wall. That’s when I noticed her t-shirt.

“No way!” I said, seeing her look at me, slightly tilting her head implied I carried on. “You’re a _My Chemical Romance_ fan?”

I saw her glance down at her top and smiled to herself, returning her attention back to me, she gave a little nod. I began to unzip his coat and her face was priceless the second she realised that I too was wearing a MCR t-shirt.

_This is just too awesome._

I held up my hand in the air. For a few seconds I was left hanging as she didn’t know what I was doing, but eventually she worked it out and the echo of a solid, friendly high-five travelled through the road.

 

I followed her around to the back of the apartment to an assigned parking space. As I watched her open the car boot, I started picturing tonight’s events _again_. Would they like me? What were they all like? Would I be accepted?

I was soon brought back to reality though, as I felt a sharp prod in my stomach. Maddy giggled slightly as she watched me wobble. I unhooked the guitar from my back and passed it to her. She then swiftly placed in the boot, shut the door and we climbed into the car. I have to admit, her little beige Fiat was pretty cute. She looked over to me before starting the ignition.

“You zoned out for a second there” she announced, looking partly concerned “What was it about?”

“Oh.” I replied kind of shy for a second “I was just thinking about everyone, and what they’re like. I know you’ve told me a bit about them, but I was just picturing it, you know?”

She nodded in response. “Trust me, they’re…” she started up the car, before finishing her sentence “Fun.”

I felt the car push forward; we were on our way to Maddy’s friend Sasha’s house. I prepared myself.

 

The car came to a slow stop about ten minutes later. There was a small house to the left of where we had stopped. Maddy turned to me as I tried to hide my panic. “Just a heads-up, we’re just a bit crazy” she joked. Right on cue, I heard a scream come from the house, followed by a large wave of laughter. I gave a quiet gulp.

“There’s Sash” Maddy sighed. I gave a nervous laugh in response.

I exited the car and helped Maddy carry the instruments up to the porch step. Before she could knock a bald guy, our age, answered the door and practically pulled us in.

 

He shouted into the lounge announcing our presence as I heard loud footsteps run towards us. Before I knew it a girl with dark purplish hair (in a ponytail), face covered in crumbs had arrived inches away from me. She was quickly followed by the girl with pink hair.

“Oh look as his cute little freckles and funny hair!” She giggled.

I was unsure how to reply, but I tried my best in not making it awkward. “Guess I could say your hair is um… funny too.” At first I regretted saying it as it sounded rather harsh, but she took it well striking a pose and saying how hers was ‘more fab’. I smiled and looked behind her to see another guy staring at me, looking partly pissed off. Maddy saved me from the awkwardness and introduced me.

“Marco, this is the group: Sasha, Connie, Megan and Jean”. As she said their names, she pointed at them individually _, thank god she did_ , I didn’t want to get their names mixed up! “Guys, this is Marco.” The two excitable girls waved to me and Connie gave me a pat on the back. Jean however just walked away back into the room he came from. Some reason it kind of kicked me in the gut. I felt like I just got rejected by this guy.

 “Don’t worry about him” Sasha whispered to me, “He’s like this a lot”. Her reassuring words made me smile slightly, but I still felt like an outcast.

I leant my guitar against the wall in Sasha’s porch and followed them into the lounge where Jean was already slumped across a sofa. Maddy walked up next to him flicking her hand making him scoot over. She then sat down next to him and patted at the pillow next to her, where I soon sat. I then had a crowd form around my feet. Megan and Sasha were staring at me like children ready for story time. I just gave Maddy a quick glance as a plea for help.

 

“So how’d you meet Maddy?” Connie asked. _Okay, not so much story time, more like an interrogation._

“Well... I was in the music shop buying guitar strings, when someone kind of, fell into me and knocked me over into a CD rack.” I laughed and looked at Maddy as she face palmed with embarrassment.

“Wait, guitar strings?” Sasha queried, sitting up slightly “You play?”

I nodded.

“That’s partly why I bought him here, we needed a guitarist for the band, and I thought he was a nice gu-“.  Maddy was cut off by Jean; it kind of caught me off-guard.

“I thought we agreed we didn’t _need_ a guitarist.” He snapped, staring right at Maddy.

Connie answered. “Well I like Marco; I think it’s a great idea!”

Sasha also spoke up as well “Yeah, I like the new guy too!” Megan nodded in agreement. I went a little red, I felt quite embarrassed that they were all sticking up for me but the glare Jean was giving me made me think he didn’t like me one bit.

Connie started to say “Maybe we’ll have a chanc-“ but he was interrupted by Jean storming across the room and slamming the front door as he left the building.

“What’s his problem?” Connie asked.

 I flopped back into the chair sighing. “I think he hates me, I knew I shouldn’t have butted in.” I couldn’t hide the sadness behind the feeling that I was the reason Jean had left. I caught sight of Maddy looking at me, looking rather worried. She sighed.

 

I felt full responsibly. “Maybe I should go-“. I started but Megan had got to her feet.

“I got this” she claimed disappearing into the hallway and soon we heard the door shut again.

“I’m sure he doesn’t hate you.” Maddy tried her best to comfort me. I felt my face fall into my hands.

“Yeah, He’s just not used to new people.” Sasha got up and stood in front of me.

“Don’t take it so seriously man.” Connie exclaimed “He was a dick to all of us as well, before we got to know him.” I saw Maddy smile and nod in agreement. I had forgotten she’d moved here before, she probably got the same treatment as me.

 “He’s still a dick now, to be fair” Connie continued, I snorted a kind of half laugh and looked up.

“Thanks guys” I said.

Connie got to his feet and suggested we started getting the instruments set up.

 

As soon as we screwed the last bit in place of Connie’s drum-kit both Jean and Megan returned to the room. Jean whispered something under his breath which received a slight jab in the ribs from Megan. But then he came over apologised to the whole group and gave me a friendly handshake, stressing the fact that it was nothing personal and I Shouldn’t feel bad about it.

The others speeded off and I thought I would talk to Jean alone. I leant closer to him.

"I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I'd like you to know what amazing people you are!" He glanced at me, his soft hair flicking across his eyes, "I mean, despite all your different personalities you all care for one another" _I was envious of them, and so badly wanted to be accepted here..._ "You're like a little family" I finished. He looked a little shocked at first, but let out a small smile, before heading off in the direction of the microphone.

After a bit of tuning and individual practicing, we decided to do a group song. At first Connie wanted to choose, but Maddy suggested that Jean did in an attempt to get his mind off of the fight earlier. He chose a song called ‘Animal I have become’ by _Three days grace._ I didn’t know the song that well, but knew of the band and thought it suited him quite well. I was later told that it was his favourite song, while I watched Sasha frantically search the internet for sheet music.

Just before we started I saw a type of logo on Maddy’s bass guitar. I walked over, avoiding pulling out cables or knocking over gear. “Cool bass!” I announced “I like the engraving, it works really well with the cream colour of the bodywork, what does it symbolise?”

She looked up at me and smiled. “I call it garrison” she answered “it means guard”. I ran my fingers across the pattern. Two roses were tangled together by thorns. I thought it fitted her personality quite well. I smiled and walked back over to my position and on the way was determined to ruffle with Jeans hair playfully. He quickly turned around and gave a slight smirk. Although we got off to a bad start, I think he’d make a good friend.

 

It took us a few minutes to get everybody playing chords in tune and in unison, but eventually it clicked. I think it went well, from Sasha’s reaction we were the newly discovered popular band. Several times she screamed so loud, Jean had to sing even louder into the microphone to flush her out. As the song came to an end I looked around and noticed everyone with smiling faces. I felt a hand rest on my shoulder as Jean said “Nice Job, New guy”. I smiled in return.

We were pretty good, despite the remarks being shouted from Sasha’s neighbour complaining about the noise. The friendship was getting stronger and so was the connection between us all.

_For once in my life, I had no reason to leave this behind._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading again :P Jean's POV of this should be out very soon. The JeanMarco has finally began ;) Stay tuned with the rest of the series <3
> 
> Check out the song they played :P  
> Animal I have Become - Three days grace  
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJ7_eJrrnDo


	4. Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco admits his 'feelings' for Jean to Maddy, but drama kicks off when Eren arrives after a fight.

A month had passed. _Guess time flies when you’re having fun._ Walking home with shopping in hand, I had flashbacks of the events unfolded that I shared with the new group.Although I had only known them for a short time, I felt like I was finally one of them.

I’d officially met Eren, Maddy’s boyfriend, and on night at Meg’s I’d met Christa, and her ‘good friend’ Levi, who I had heard a lot about since becoming closer to Megan.

I had gotten to know everyone so well! Connie and Sasha even bought me a “welcome to the band” gift. I had become Maddy’s ‘babe' as she called it _; she knew how much I hated the word, as did she, but I guess that’s the girl’s version of bro?_ Meg I learnt was very creative, but also seemed quite excitable and innocent, but not childish. I thought of her as kind of little sister. As for Jean, well after our little upset he became my babe… I mean bro…

Of course, I had just stuck with the nickname “freckles”. Practically everyone called me that now. Not that I minded. I had even come up with a few nicknames of my own. Megan was now “Pink one” and Jean had earned the name “Jeanie-pie”. I had called him that after he pulled the most heartbroken face when Sasha had stolen his Pizza one evening. In fact, Jean and I had become really close since the first official “Band night” as we called them. He’d even take the spare room in my flat, to avoid his noisy flat mate.

I didn’t mind the fact he crashed in my place, in fact I enjoyed the company, _and it even gave me time to get to know the guy._ Several evenings we spent together would end in either a pillow fight war, Xbox gaming or a wrestling match. A lot of times something would be broken, which then would automatically end the conflict. After the battle, we would sit on the floor, regaining our strength, and would just talk to endless hours of the day.

Two nights ago, at one of the many other ‘Band nights’, I had also been taught a drinking game, that they play together, known as ‘Wizards of Intoxication’. I remember that night well as it was the first time I had ever had alcohol; _which Jean could not believe._ The final duel came down to Jean and myself. His pillar of beer cans, referred as a ‘staff’, was much larger than mine but I felt like I had the tactical advantage. As the match began, Jean made several short, quick swings and me but I was able to JUST avoid them. Several minutes later, neither of us had made contact with each other, so Jean resulted in rugby tackling me to the ground. He had me pinned underneath him, grinning at me. He began raising his staff above his head, preparing to _literally_ kill me with his next blow. I could hear Megan, Sasha and Connie screaming at the excitement of the last fight. Luckily for me as he swung downwards I was able to flip my head slightly to the right, avoiding the pole, as it snapped in two from impact of the floor. His smile dropped straight off his face as he realised his mistake, as I smirked back up to him victoriously.

“We have a winner!” I heard Maddy announce, as she was snuggled up next to Eren. _Eren…_

The thought of the two reminded me where I was going. I looked up to my right seeing the symbol for Sina apartments. I walked over to the gate planning what I should say.

 

Last night I had received a phone call from Armin, Maddy’s flatmate, who informed me Eren and Maddy had had an argument which resulted in her storming out of his house crying. I knew Maddy too well, she doesn’t do that often.

 

_Something serious must have happened._

 

I decided after that phone call, that I would come see her today, to check that she was okay and partly because I needed to tell her something. I rang the buzzer to room 24 which was answered by Armin.

“Hello?”

“Hey Armin, it’s me Marco, I came to see how Maddy’s doing.” I heard him sigh after he heard me say that, which was then followed by the receiver being hung up and a loud buzz to announce the front door was open. On my way up the many staircases, I kept having flashbacks of Jean. _I think of him way to often…_

I remember last week where he got so drunk he ended up grabbing me and using me as a teddy-bear all night refusing to let me get out of the bed in my spare-room. That night I spent the whole time just staring at him sleeping. It was kind of cute.

 _Marco you creep! You can’t ‘like like’ your best friend! Stalking them was bad enough…_  

 

My mind had woken me from my memories, just as I reached to the staircase next to Maddy’s flat. I gave a knock to the door which was quickly answered by Armin. He was blonde, and had blue eyes, a bit like a male version of Christa (Megan’s roommate), and not much taller either.

“Thank god you’re here” He said, shutting the door behind me “Even _I_ can’t get her to come out of her room”. That worried me. Armin was really good with this stuff; he always knew what to say. _If he couldn’t do it, could I?_

I followed him down the corridor until he stopped at a plain white door. He gave a gentle knock.

“Maddy? You have a visitor...” He said softly.

I heard a complaining groan from the other side of the door, as footsteps gradually came closer. I looked at Armin as we heard the door lock click. The door gently opened with only a small gap to look through. I saw the left side of her face, the rest covered by the door. She had black bags under her eyes and her hair was all ruffled. _She hasn’t slept well._ As she tried to inspect who was there I told her it was me and she opened the door fully. Still in her pyjamas she walked away from us, but only allowing me to enter.

“I’ll be out here if you need me” Armin whispered to me before closing the door. I turned my attentions to Maddy. She was led on her bed staring at the ceiling lifelessly. I couldn’t help but feel bad for her.

 

I walked across the room and sat next to her, not overly sure what to say, but seeing as she was the first friend I made down here, I at least owed her some comforting. I noticed large black smudges across the surface of her pillow; _Mascara._

“H-How you doing?” I queried. I was afraid of making the situation worse. She shrugged in response, so I continued to talk to her.

“I heard about … what happened, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what did he say?” At first, I didn’t think asking her would be such a good move, but surprisingly she spoke up.

“He was a bit drunk...” She started; face still focusing on the ceiling. “He first started joking about who I would choose between him and Jean.” _Oh dear._

“I refused to give him an answer; I mean I could NEVER choose!” She sat up and looked at me. “He got a little pissed off, the fact I wouldn’t. Eventually it got so bad I screamed at him saying I needed them both, but...” Her words trailed off as her eyes began to fill with tears. I brought my hand up and wrapped it around her shoulder, giving her a slight hug. I felt so bad, making her re-live it, but if she was this bad _someone_ needed to know what happened.

“A-and then” she stuttered “H-he, he said he didn’t NEED me...” Her voice trailed off as she brought up her hand to cover her mouth, tears overflowing and streaming down her cheek. _Ouch Eren, that was harsh._

“So, is that when you stormed out?” I asked quietly.

She nodded. “I didn’t give that bastard time to apologise, he realised what he had done, but before he could stutter out ‘that’s not what he meant’ cliché I was gone.”

 

“Hey, you said he was drunk right?” I said reassuringly “And you know how much he gets worked up about Jean, perhaps it was just a bad combo for the moment.”

She looked up at me, as the tears began to slow. She tried to force a smile to me.

“Plus” I continued “You two are the cutest together, despite the ass he is.”

She gave a little laugh, wiping away the tears and sniffing slightly. _Nice one!_

“Also...” I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew a good gossip would cheer her up.

She looked up at me, now beginning to look much better emotionally and physically.

“Also?” She repeated. _Good to hear her voice properly again!_

I sighed “I didn’t just come here to comfort you... I need to tell YOU something, you personally being the most trustworthy and the closest to me.”

She blushed slightly and leant forward, interested in the topic.

“Soo... What is it?” She said smiling.

 

I sighed again and looked up to the roof, trying to avoid eye-contact. “I- I kind of... like someone.” I said slowly. Maddy automatically shot up, getting ridiculously close to my face.

“WHAT?! You didn’t tell me you had a crush!” She giggled. “WHO?”

“It’s not quite that simple...” She looked at me, partly concerned after I said that. She quickly exchanged her negative expression to a happier one.

“Nothing ever is Marco, c’mon look at me and Er-“She shook her head, refusing to finish. _She has a point though, nothing is EVER simple._

“I-. “ I started slowly, really struggling to put it into words. “I-I like a... guy” I let my face drop into my hands. I knew Maddy always kept to secrecy but, I hadn’t told anyone something THIS personal. I had had crushes on a guy before, although I had either never acknowledged them, or failed to tell anyone. My heart raced, as I realised I’d basically just come out. I peeled back a few fingers to find Maddy’s face surprisingly smiling. _She wasn’t shocked or bothered?_

She gave a slight even smile at me before speaking.

“Whoooo?” She questioned, not seeming bothered that the fact I had a crush on a GUY!

I bit my lip, unable to respond or say anything.

“Is he in our group?” I paused for a moment, and light out a heavy breath. I gave a slight nod turning my face back to Maddy. This information had cheered her right up.

“It’s not Eren, right?” Giving a faint smile.

I laughed. “No, no need to worry.” Although they had an argument I don’t think they had ‘officially’ broken up.

“So, who is it?” She continued, mind set on me confessing. She began to think aloud.

“Well, Connie’s dating Sasha and you wouldn’t do that right?” I shook my head as she continued “And you just admitted it wasn’t Eren, so that means...” She stared at me with a stunned face.

“Jean.” We both said in unison. My stomach flipped.

 

Maddy let out a girlish scream as she fell onto her back, kicking her legs in the air, like a five year old who just got candy.

“Oh my god! Marco!” She sprang back up staring into my face. “That’s so adorable!”

I sighed.

“I don’t know what to do; I can’t just tell him I like him”

“Why not?”

“Because, he’ll get freaked out and won’t want to be my friend.” I replied.

Maddy came put her arm around my shoulder. “C’mon Marco, you’ve got to tell him.”

“Bu-“ I started.

“But nothing. He’s your best friend! He’ll understand.”

Our discussion was interrupted by another gentle knock at the door.

 

I glanced over to Maddy who looked as confused as I was. _Was it Armin?_

The person knocked again.

“Umm... it-its Eren...”

Maddy sharply turned to me and shook her head, eyes wide.

“Look, Maddy I know you’re in there, please just talk to me...”

She brought up a single finger and held it in front of her lips. We sat in silence for several minutes, while Eren begged that Maddy would respond to him, until Maddy’s phone went off. Maddy rapidly answered it, trying to stop the music of her ringtone.

“Damn it Meg not a good time!” She then quickly hung up.

The message from Meg began to play out “Maddy, Maddy I’m so sorry!” _What?_ “He just got real angry, he was probably sticking up for me, but I should’ve stoppe-“

“Maddy, PLEASE just open the door!” Eren cried from the other side of the door. Megan’s message ended.

“Please…”

I tilted my head to Maddy, giving a small smile and giving a slight shrug. She must have admitted defeat because she soon rose to her feet and headed over to the door. 

 

I heard the sound of the door click, as it swung open to reveal Eren sat in front of the doorway. He rushed up, onto his feet, as I heard Maddy gasp, and pull him by his wrist into the room. At first I didn’t notice, but as the sunlight from the window hit his face I saw his black-eye, bruising across his face and a slight dried blood trail from his nose. _What the hell?!_

I jumped to my feet as she placed Eren next to me on the bed and rushed off into the on-suit. I gave him a slight nudge as a type of greeting as he returned the gesture. Maddy then returned to the room, a wet flannel in hand. She sat next to Eren, gently dabbing his face where the injuries were.

“What the hell happened?” She asked

“Levi...” Eren responded “Meg called me when she heard, to try and talk some sense into me, and I guess Levi was there-” He flinched as Maddy cleaned him up. “-because minutes after she hung up, well he got annoyed and practically KNOCKED the sense into me.”

Ouch, I didn’t realise Levi was that kind of guy…

There was a moment of silence before Eren continued. “Maddy, I realised what I said before, and I didn’t me-“

Maddy had cut Eren off short, simply by raising a single finger and resting upon his lips.

“Shhh, it’s okay. You’ve apologised enough already, plus you were drunk”

He pushed her hand away gently and continued “It’s still not okay!” I decided this was a conversation I should let them get on with, so I got up slowly, nodded to Maddy and went to stand outside the door, letting it close to a crack. I just felt like I was intruding a little.

A huge weight came off my shoulders then. Of course I knew by tomorrow Connie Sasha and Meg would know as well, but I didn’t mind. So long as HE never found out. Just because you admit to being gay, does not mean he is. But there was always a possibility…

 

“How is she?” I was snapped into reality by Armin’s cautious voice.

“Better, I think” I saw him lean across their breakfast bar in the kitchen.

“I’m Glad” he smiled “They talking it over?” I nodded and explained what I knew had happened so far. His face turned to shock.

“Woah” he said. “I mean Levi isn’t exactly a comforting person to be around but...” He muttered and wondered back to the kitchen.

I heard a sudden burst of laughter from behind the door and I stuck my head around to inspect.

They were sat on Maddy’s bed, hand in hand. As they looked up at me, I saw the both beaming.

“Good to see you two happy again” I grinned. _Thank god._

 

As Maddy ditched the flannel in the bathroom, I moved to sit next to Eren.

“Good job,” I said as Maddy returned to squish between us.

 

Before I could say anything further, I felt my phone buzz, and all three of us reached to read the message.

 

**From Sasha:**

**EMERGENCY BANDNIGHT! I have a surprise! My house tonight 5:30 ;)**

 

As we read the messages we exchanged confused looks. _What’s going on here?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :D From now the JeanMarco feels will begin! I hope you all enjoyed it :P Keep tuned for the later chapters and other parts of the series, thanks again MadelineAmyJayne :)


	5. Wings of Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group go get their surprise from Sasha, and Jean recuse Marco :3

“You guys have any idea what she’s on about?” Eren queried.

“No idea” I laughed.

“What’s the time?” Maddy asked, still looking pretty confused about the situation.

I pulled my mobile from out of my pocket and showed her the screen: 17:10.

“Better get a move on” she joked, as we all stood up and awkwardly huddled next to each other.

“I should get back to my flat and get my guitar; I’ll see you guys at Sasha’s”. Before I even gave them the chance to reply, I had left the flat, being sure to wave goodbye to Armin on the way out. _I’ll give them a bit of ‘personal’ space._

Walking down the staircase, my mind once again thought of Jean. _Maybe I should text him..._

“Nah, ill see him in a bit. Besides he’s probably busy...” I sighed to myself. I reached the door at the front of the building as I heard a loud voices coming from the street. _What’s going on?_ As the sunlight practically blinded me, as I exited the building, I noticed a group of ‘rough’ looking kids centred at the corner of my road. _Shit..._

 

Although I was strong enough to beat Jean in wrestling matches in my house, I’m not that good of an ‘actual’ fighter. I really didn’t want to go near them, but they were on my road, the only way to get to my house was passing them. I gave myself a quick ‘rough up’ make-over; ruffling my hair from its parted formation and pulled up my jacket’s hood over my head, I headed in their direction where they were shouting at each other.

 

One of them was quite chubby, he had thin brown hair and wore a loose dark red top and chinos. The guy next to him had pale hair, kind of gray-ish, smeared back and wore a blue hoodie with a white hood dangling around his neck. The tallest of the three, who was obviously the leader, had spiked ash brown hair. He wore a black jacket, with a red necktie. He was slightly shorter than I, but had broad shoulder and could easily beat the living shit into me if he wanted. He had the grey-haired kid in a grip by his shirt, slamming him up against a wall of a building. As I was in hearing distance of them, I looked down, hiding my face from them and avoiding eye contact.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” The boy uttered out, as his throat was being slightly pulled on by his hood.

“Teaching you a lesson!” The leader said, tightening his grip on the other guys shirt. _I definitely want to avoid this._ I was walking past the third guy, so close to escape when he turned slightly and I felt my shoulder barge into him. _Oh shit..._ My pace quickened as I realised my lethal mistake when I heard a loud shout coming from behind me.

“WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?!” I felt myself get into a state of panic, but put on a brave face. I turned my head to find all three stood together in a row, the two had stopped fighting and the brown haired kid screaming at me, red faced.

“I’M TALKING TO YOU DICKHEAD!” he yelled. I turned my body fully and stood with a straight posture to make them acknowledge my height advantage. Although I was acting hard, I was secretly panicking. _Shit shit shit shit! What do I say?!_

“Come on then! You want some?! PUNCH ME I DARE YOU!” he roared, pulling up his fists, approaching me slowly.

“Why would I do that?” I asked bitterly “I won’t swoop that low, I’m not a fuc-“ I got cut short by a powerful punch to the gut, which completely winded me. For a few seconds I was arched over, breathing heavily, trying to get my lungs functioning properly again. The scene returned, but this time I was the one slammed up against a wall.

“Watch your mouth!” The chubby kid said, face full of rage. The leader ripped my hoodie back, revealing my face.

“You freckled little prick...” He pulled his arm back, hand clenched. I closed my eyes and braced for the impact.

“STOP!” A loud recognisable voice hollered down the road. I opened my eyes and turned my head to the sound of rapid footsteps sprinting down the alley under the train bridge. The bullies had frozen on the spot, glancing down the darkened area. _Who was it?_ The heavy breaths of the guy could be heard, and he pelted down the road. As he ran out of the shadows I instantly identified the ash-brown haired, thin jaw-lined guy running towards us. _Jean..._

“OH SHIT! IT’S KERSTIEN!” The leader yelled, releasing the grip of me, and fled down the road before Jean’s rath could reach them. Unluckily for the fatter kid, he was too slow and received a powerful fist-full to the cheek. He fell to the floor from the force and quickly got to his feet and ran as quickly as he could.

 

I leant forward, gripping my stomach with my arms, closing my eyes. _Ouch..._

“You okay?” Jean said softly.

I looked up at him, and saw him grinning at me, obviously proud of himself. “Yeah... Thanks man.”

He patted me on the back gently, and walked down the road with me until we reached two shopping bags; items sprawled out across the pavement. He bent down, sweeping them back into the bags before returning to his feet, as we continued to walk towards my apartment.

“Ignore those shits next time Marco. They can be a bit of a handful...” He grumbled.

“You sound like you speak from experience.”

“Nah, just know them from where they were dicks to Armin in Maria.” He paused “Anyways, where you off to?”

“I was just heading home, going to get my guitar. Did you get the text from Sasha?” I asked.

“Yeah. I just got some groceries for Thomas, and then I’m gonna head over there, need a lift?”

“No thanks, I’ll walk. Besides, you’re always late.” _Oh my god... why is he so sweet?!_ We walked up to the front gate of Rose apartments.

“Suit yourself” He smiled. _There’s those feelings again!_ “I’ll see you later!” He called, heading off down the street.

“JEAN!” I called, as I reached my doorstep. He stopped and turned around.

“Hmm?”

“Thanks again!”

He let out a smug smile and walked away. I unlocked my door and ran up the stairs, having realised how late I would be otherwise.

 

On the way I met up with Meg as we decided to walk together. We talked and joked until we reached Sasha’s. We joined Maddy and Sasha on her sofa, and shortly after that Connie wandered in and greeted Sasha with a quick kiss on the cheek. I cringed a little at that. He then jumped into the spare chair and asked “So, what’s all the drama?” Maddy gave him an update on the situation as there was another knock at the door.

Jean practically charged in. “Maddy! You okay?”

“Yeah I’m okay” She replied

“I’ll beat the shit into that asshole Yeager!” I saw Meg blush red.

“Bit late for that” I joked. He glanced over at me at first a little confused, but let out a small smile – I guess he was still proud from ‘rescuing’ me. We then repeated the whole ‘update’ so Jean knew what had happened, after which he came and sat next to me where we exchanged smiles about our secret victory.

 

After a while both Eren and Levi had arrived and settled in the lounge among us. Sasha had dashed off into the kitchen to make some milkshakes, after Levi had lobbed a packet of the dust to her. He had settled by Eren on the sofa, and by the looks of things made him quite uncomfortable. Sasha returned, a tray full of milkshakes. Before she even sat down, Connie had gulped his down.

“Hey Levi?” Jean spoke out of no-where.

“hmf?” An expressionless reply.

“Nice job” He grinned, nodding his head towards Eren.

“A vast improvement to his face.” Levi joked, but still didn’t change his expression. Jean let out a bellowing laugh, before Levi continued. “Unfortunately Jean, yours still resembles that of a horse.” The whole room erupted with laughter, mainly from Megan. I tried to hold back my snigger, as I felt partly sympathetic towards him as the cocky grin wiped off his face.

 

After Meg had calmed a little, we decided to change subject.

“Okay Sasha, what’s this big surprise?” Maddy asked.

Sasha dashed up onto her feet and retrieved a envelope from the corner of the room. She returned with an evil little smile on her face, tucking the paper under her arm.

“Right” she started “You guys want to know why I’ve summoned you here?” We all nodded, Jean and I both said ‘yes’ in sync. I let out a little laugh and he smiled at me.

“As most of you can probably remember, at the party after we left Maria at Megan’s house, we watched that movie and the talent show audition adverts came up. We discussed it but decided we couldn’t do it because we didn’t have a guitarist right?” Silence. “Well since we’ve got Marco now…” She waved the envelope in the air, excitedly. “I got you guys an audition!” She smiled.

 

My jaw dropped. The whole room was in hush from bewilderment. Connie was first to break the silence.

“Are you for real?! THAT’S AWESOME!” He leaped off of the sofa, rushing over to Sasha, rapidly scanning through the letter.

“Woah woah woah, hold the phone. You actually did that?” Megan queried, milkshake tipping around.

She nodded proudly “I researched it and got you a slot.”

“This is actually legit” Connie announced, glancing up from the paperwork.

“Guys…” Jean interrupted “Before we go having fits of excitement don’t we need a name?”

“Yeah.” I agreed “Anyone got any ideas?”

The room flooded with voices, discussion potential names. Jean came up with one called ‘ _Jean and the mean teens’_ which was quickly dismissed after Eren’s reaction of hysterical laughter. Levi then discussed whether ‘The reluctant heroes’ would be good. In the end we decided that it was too dramatic for a band name, so ended up back at square one.

 

As I was concentrating on potential band names, Maddy decided to contribute.

“Hey guys?” she said, staring into her palm “What about ‘Wings of Freedom’?”

 _I like it..._ I saw people’s expressions change.

“Yeah! I love it!”

“Yeah me too” Both Jean and Eren said. I nodded with agreement.

“Wings it is then” Connie said, scribbling the name down on the sheet with a pen he got from his jeans pocket.

“Wings...” Meg whispered.

“What’s going on in there, eh Pink?” I asked friendly, as I reached over the arm of the sofa, tapping her on the head.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, placing it on the coffee table centred in the middle of the lounge, as she scrolled through photos. Everyone leant in to inspect the screen closer. She stopped scrolling as there was a shield shaped logo, two wings coming out either side, several rose vines winding themselves around the shield, with a pair of swords cut through, and a key dangling between it all.

“I drew it months ago, and I just remembered” She said proudly.

Levi picked up the mobile, holding it inches away from his face. “How on earth do you do that?” he asked quietly. Meg smiled, and I thought I saw his mouth smile slightly, but I’m pretty sure it was my imagination.

“It’s perfect!” I announced “We could get T-shirts and everything”. I laughed to myself about wearing a matching top as Jean.

“Yeah, good idea!” Sasha said. “If we do well, a little merchandise wouldn’t hurt eh?”

“Whoa, slow down now, we need to concentrate on practise and getting in first!” Maddy attempted to calm us down.

“She’s right,” Eren concurred “You haven’t won yet”

As the others were distracted by the excitement, I found myself staring at Jean and his pathetically cute smile. _I don’t understand why he doesn’t like his smile IT’S FUCKING ADORABLE!_ I felt a sudden chill like someone was watching me. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Maddy looking in our direction. I blushed slightly and she smiled.

 

After we had calmed down, we thought it would be a good idea to actually get some band practice on ‘band night’. In the end we decided to play ‘ _Bones’_ by _Young guns_ which Maddy had recommended. Levi, Eren and Sasha gathered on the sofa opposite us, as we began to play. Although this was the first time I’d played this, but honestly we weren’t too bad. _Actually we were amazing._ After our mini applause from the three person audience, I headed over and talked to Eren.

“How’s your face?” I laughed

“Hah.” He smiled, looking downwards “Nah it’s alright, a little numb”

“You and Maddy good now?”

“Yeah” He smiled, looking up at my face “We’re good. Thank you for going to visit her, I think you helped a hell of a lot.”

I smiled “You’re welcome, besides, that’s what friends are for.”

 

“You know what guys,” Sasha spoke up over the chit chat. “With a bit of practise, that’d be great as your audition.”

Connie grinned. “That would be amazing! We could make a bunch of edits for a drum solo – “

“In that case I think Marco deserves a drum solo” Jean interrupted

The possible edits were listed, and our excitement rose once again. We were actually going to do this and I was happy that we were doing it together.

_I can’t wait for this... Wings of Freedom will fly together!_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading :3 I hope you guys enjoyed. Again stay tuned for the next chapters :P
> 
> The song they played in practice:   
> Young guns - Bones   
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk3vjIDuy9w


	6. Yes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The audition of 'Wings of Freedom', and a few cute jeanmarco moments :3

We were huddled together backstage of the Imperial arena in the centre of Trost, amongst wires, camera crews and fellow acts, whom a majority had been rejected and were crying. We were the last act of the day, performance 104.

I was practicing chords with Maddy; whilst Connie was instructing the stage staff how to set up his drums in the right place. _If they were incorrect, his drum solo could go to shit._ I noticed how Jean was facing the stage, watching the act before us. They were a dance crew, that were pretty good, but the judges didn’t seem enthusiastic about them. An act not 3 minutes ago had run off stage crying because of the comments from the third judge – the strictest one.

The stage hand called us over, so Maddy and I paused and dragged our instruments over. Megan’s and Connie’s were in the hands of the crew, ready to be set up as soon as the 103rd act had left the stage. As we clustered together, I noticed how shaky Megan was. _We were all nervous, but she seems the most affected._

“Dude, it’ll be fine” Connie said, as he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“Besides, it’s not the end of the world if we don’t pass through; it was fun just doing this together, right?” I commented, feeling quite bad for making Meg go through this. But she loved playing; nerves just got the better of her.

“Yeah” Jean chimed in “But it would still be pretty cool if we got through to the live shows.” He smiled nervously towards me, I knew he was scared, but he sure as hell tried not to show it. He was our leader, and if he shows any weakness the rest of us collapse around him.

 

A loud buzzer sound came from the stage I saw Meg freeze. I glanced around my shoulder, to see the dance crew on stage almost fall over from the sound. From previous episodes of the show, I’ve learnt how if all three judges buzz, the act have to leave. A lot of people have had to deal with that today and I so hope it won’t be us.

“Everybody remember what they have to do?” Connie questioned, trying to rid of the fear of getting sent home.

“Yeah” Maddy responded “Marco and I will be backup singers for Jean and you and Meg need to do the intro” Before anyone else could join, the TV presenter from the show walked over to us, with a filming camera man, as the dance crew walked off teary-eyed. _They didn’t get through..._

“You ready?” He asked us. Everyone nodded in response as we formed a single file line: Jean first, then I, followed by Maddy, Connie and Megan.

“Wings fly free” We chanted a whisper together. It was a silly saying thing we made up at a previous band-night, but we decided it would be good-luck charm before we perform. We walked on stage, proudly, but nervous at the same time.

 

We lined up like school-children opposite the judging panel. The crowd were silent. _I guess they couldn’t be bothered to applaud after the acts they’ve had before._ Everybody was looking at us, and I felt quite threatened by the eyes of everyone in the room. The first judge – a TV comedian – leant forward towards the microphone attached to his desk.

“Hello! Who are you and where are you from?”

Jean stepped forward, and leant forward into the microphone at the front of the stage.

“My names Jean” He paused, looking in our direction “These are my band mates, Connie, Megan, Maddy and Marco and we’re ‘Wings of Freedom’” As he said each of our names, he pointed at us individually. This reminded me of my first encounter with everyone. How Maddy had introduced me to them all. Jean was interrupted by a shout from the crowd

“HELL YEAH!” Levi called, as he punched up into the air. The crowd all looked in his direction, trying to discover the source of the sound, as they whispered with each other. Sasha and Eren then joined in with supportive yelling.

“Looks like you already have a fan” the judge joked, and we all let out a small laugh, and I saw a sudden change in Meg’s stiffness – _she was back to normal now._

 

The female judge, who I think had something to do with fashion, was sat in the middle. She leant forward to the microphone. “You guys don’t seem that old, how old are you?”

“We’re 16/17 years old; Connie and Megan are the youngest.” Maddy responded, as Meg out a small laugh, as she blushed.

“Wow! You’re pretty brave coming on here, well good luck!” She replied “The stage is yours.” We scattered across the stage, preparing ourselves for the performance of our lives: Connie at the back sat on his drum stool, Megan just to his left. Maddy and I were on opposite sides of the stage and Jean at the front. I glanced over to everyone, and we all nodded in sync. The crowd were silent, the cameras were rolling, and we were ready...

 

The quiet rumble of bass chords, keyboard notes and drumming simmered across the arena, before I broke in with my guitar and nearly broke off the roof. Soon enough, Jean had joined in singing:

“Down under the night sky, I lie and wait. Praying to whoever, will listen to me...” We started well and his voice was like an angel. _Well, an alternative rock angel..._ As it came closer to the chorus, Maddy and I made eye-contact. She nodded and I knew what to do. We began to cross over each other, leaning back to back as we echoed Jean’s ‘BONES’. The crowd were on our side, as the cheering roared over the music, and I even saw the comedian judge dancing around, causing the audience to laugh and me to break a smile. The rest of the song passed with joy in my heart. I realised how I shouldn’t be worried about messing up, I should just enjoy it while I can.

As the ending notes faded away, the arena was silent. I could hear the group breathing heavily from the performance. I could hear my heart beating through my chest.

 

All of a sudden, the whole audience rose to their feet, producing a deafening applause, as two of the judges joined in. I glanced across the room, finding smiling faces from the crowd, and smiling face from my band mates. I ran across to the others into the middle, huddling centre staged.

“We did it! We actually did it!” Megan screamed over the roaring crowd in the background.

“It’s not over yet” Jean responded, pulling away, facing the panel again.

 

We lined up alongside him, but being greeted by smiling faces. The cheering came to a quiet hush as people returned to their seats. The female judge leant forward, a large smile on her face.

“WOW! That is what we’ve been looking for! I mean, you have this chemistry between every one of you, that really shows through your performance and I loved it!” A small cheer came from the audience, as the next judge leant forward to speak.

“Well! That was unexpected. You guys are so young but you’re so filled with talent. You’re going places, kids!” I let out a sigh of relief, as the tension began to fade away. I glanced over to Connie and let out a smile. _This sounded good._

 

“I hate to be the killjoy but...” The strictest and third judge interrupted “I can’t help feeling you need to drop someone from the band.” I froze to the spot. _This can’t be happening..._ The crowd rose to their feet, roaring boo as a indication of their disagreement, which was quickly followed by a ‘SHUT THE HELL UP!’ from Levi. _I didn’t realise a guy that short could produce that much amount of noise._ As I returned my attentions to the panel, I felt my heartbeat pounding through my chest.

“I mean” he started, shrugging “With the strong backup vocals from Marco and Maddy, I feel like Jean isn’t needed here...” I swear I felt my heart stop as Jean’s head dropped forward instantly. Another loud roar of boos exploded from the audience and from the two other judges. I became paralysed as emotions flooded my body and I realised how I was totally powerless to help him. _No..._

I saw movement in the corner of my eye. I turned my head to see that Maddy had moved to the centre of the front, with Jean’s microphone in hand. She brought it to her mouth. _You’ve got this!_

“We came here as a group today, half expecting it to go wrong: a missed chord, or some sort of a mistake” She paused, scanning around the room before continuing. “But, we’ve always stuck together no matter what. And honestly I think I speak for the rest us when I say: we came here as a five... and we are sure as hell leaving as a five!” The crowd was on her side, as were I and the others. A loud cheer erupted from the arena. _She had made a stand, for him, and for all of us._ Jean pulled her in for a hug, retrieving the microphone from her hand, and whispering something into her ear.

 

As the cheering died down, the moment of truth had arrived. It was time them to vote. The minimum was two yes’s as it would allow us to move into the lives. My heart was racing as the first judge leant forward into his mic.

“I vote yes” he smiled.

“Me too!” the female judge chimed in. My excitement grew, and I glanced over to Jean, giving him a warm smile. _We did it! We’re in!_ Our arms raised in a chain, as Megan jumped up and down with joy. Realisation must have struck, because she stopped and glanced over to the judges again. _We still needed the third judge’s opinion, despite the fact we were already in._ He scanned us individually thoroughly, taking extra time on both Maddy and Jean.

“I respect your bravery” He started, bringing up his hand, pointing a bony individual finger in Maddy’s direction. “And for that, alongside your talent... I too vote yes.”

 

In that moment, I had transformed into a fifteen year old girl; screaming jumping up and down, in a tight group hug with my fellow band members. The crowd once again were out of their seats, applauding. The feeling was like no other. _We had done it! Wings had done it!_

We pulled up next to Jean’s flat entrance. I was sat in the passage seat in Maddy’s beige fiat, with our instruments stuffed in the back. As she waved to Jean, my mind passed over the events of today and my dread for tomorrow.

“Last stop, Marco Bodt’s house” she joked, giving me a friendly nudge, but I wasn’t focused on her.

“Heh...” I replied, totally unaware of what she was saying. She leant forward, waving her hand in front of my face.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah it’s just” I sighed before continuing “I booked in for a driving test for tomorrow and I’m pretty worried about it.” I had previously planned distracting myself with band nights to calm my nerves for another attempt at passing a driving practical, but all attempts had failed, and now we’d passed into the lives, I have no distraction left.

“You know” she said, starting the engine and pulling away from the curb “I think you’d be good driver, I think it’s just your nerves that get the better of you.”

“You really think so?” I questioned, not believing in myself at all.

“Yeah. I was the same, nerves got really bad and then I had minor faults and didn’t pass my first time. After a bit of reassurance, I got through it.” she paused“Just stay calm, and you’ll be fine. I mean you just performed in front of hundreds, this is easy” _She was right!_

“Thanks” I smiled.

 

A few moments of sweet silence passed, and although she was able to focus on the road, she was also capable of convosation.

“Sooo, how’s the whole Jean situation?” She giggled, eyes still focused on the traffic ahead. I laughed to myself, lowering my head, attempting to hide my burning blush across my face, but I failed.

“I still feel the same, if anything after all that’s happened...” I replied, before letting out a large sigh.

“So you haven’t told him?”

“Nah...” As much as I wanted to admit to Jean how I felt, I always had that fear of being coldly rejected and him being crept out so he doesn’t talk to me anymore. _I mean, what can I say?! How can I tell him? I’m not willing to take that risk..._

Maddy giggled slyly, before giving me an evil grin. “I have an idea...” she started. “If we get to the finals of the competition, will you tell him?”

I gave a small puff of air as a laugh. “I’m not a betting man, but deal!” I believed we could get that far in the competition, just didn’t believe Maddy would remember at that time – _she’s very forgetful at times._

“Yeah!” she shouted victoriously “I’m keeping you to that!”

I laughed, before deciding to change the subject.

“So I’m assuming things are okay with you and Eren now then?” Despite the dark lighting, I could see a slight blush appear on her cheeks.

“Defiantly, thanks to Levi”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “So is he a good friend of you lot? I mean, I haven’t seen much of him since the band started”

“Yeah, he’s a good friend, but like you said, he doesn’t hang out with us much. Although I am hearing a lot more of him from Meg lately”

“That’s true!” We laughed “It’s Just, He seems so different to Meg, would he ever try to hurt her, d’ya think?” I questioned, worried about the safety of my friend. _If he can do that to Eren, what could he do to Meg?_

“Meg’s not stupid; she wouldn’t go for all that mess, anyways”

I lowered my head, partly in shame for judging so quickly, and not believing in my friend.

“I just, I don’t want you or anyone else to be hurt, not after Er-“

“That’s all in the past” Maddy interrupted “And I thank you for being there for me! You’re a great friend Marco, and I’m sure with you around, we’ll be fine” She gave me a warm smile, and I mirrored it. _I didn’t realise I was that important to them all. Moving to Trost was the best decision of my life!_

Soon enough, I had been dropped off at my door. As I waved goodbye to Maddy pulling away, I felt my jean pocket vibrate. I pulled out my phone to discover I had a text message.

 

**From Jean:**

**Good luck tomorrow, I remember you mentioning you had a test. I believe in you man!** **J**

As I made my journey up the stairs, I happily tapped in a response.

 

**To Jean:**

**Thanks Jean! I have the fabulous tips of the driving God Kirstein** **, HOW COULD IT GO WRONG? :P**

I reached my flat door, pulling out my key and heading in. As I wrestled with my clothes, trying to get ready for bed, I heard my phone buzz against the table.

**From Jean:**

**DAMN RIGHT! ;D Good job today tho, we needed you.**

 

I smiled to myself, pulling my duvet up to my waist, I led in my bed, the light from my phones screen lighting up my face.

 

**To Jean:**

**All of us were needed including you! That judge was wrong; you’re a part of who we are. You’re a part who I am**

 

As I sent it, I smiled to myself pathetically. Maddy was right, I was totally head-over-heels for Jean Kirstein, and there was nothing I could do about it. For about ten minutes I stared at my text screen waiting for a response from Jean, but it didn’t come. _Have I said something wrong?_ I locked my phone, placing on the bedside table next to me. I turned onto my side facing the wall, trying to force myself to sleep. _Oh fuck..._

_Bttz Bttz!_

I opened my eyes gently to see how my room was lit up by my phones screen. I rolled over, stretching out my arm to collect my phone. I had been asleep for 30 minutes, although it felt like forever _. I didn’t realise how much hard work performances are!_ I glanced down to the received message and I smiled.

 

**From Jean:**

**NO FUCKING HOMO XD But seriously thanks, that means a lot.**

I laughed to myself, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in my heart.

**To Jean:**

**It’s true, every word of it ;)** **What you doing now?**

A few SECONDS later, I received a reply.

**From Jean:**

**I’m led in bed, just texting my beautiful bae, Mr. Bodt ;)**

“His...his bae?” I muttered to myself. I pictured him led on his mattress, wearing boxers, his duvet just in line with his waist. _PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER MAN!_ I slapped my forehead gently before replying.

**To Jean:**

**‘No fucking homo’ Jean :P**

**From Jean:**

**STFU XD I was complimenting you. Anyways I better get some shut eye, night Marco!**

I hate to admit it, but my heart sunk at that. I was enjoying just texting him, and I was sure as hell going to make him feel guilty about leaving me. I evilly laughed to myself as I began to spam him with messages.

 

**To Jean:**

**NOOOOO! YOU AINT LEAVING MEH**

**JEAN**

**JEAN**

**JEAN**

**NO**

**NO SLEEP**

**4 U**

**ARE YOU ASLEEP YET?**

**ARE YOU ASLEEP YET?**

**ARE YOU ASLEEP YET?**

**ARE YOU ASLEEP YET?**

**ARE YOU ASLEEP YET?**

This went on for a good five minutes before I was responded to.

 

**From Jean:**

**OMG MARCO STFU! SLEEP, MOTHERFUCKER, I NEED IT as do you! You have a fucking driving exam tomorrow, GO TO FUCKING SLEEP!**

I burst into laughter, just picturing him angrily yet happily type me a response. I was swift to reply.

 

**To Jean:**

**Night Jean :3**

**From Jean:**

**Goodnight.**

 

I returned my phone to its original pace on the bedside table, before cocooning in my bed sheets. That night, I slept peacefully, with the warm feeling of joy in my heart.

 

9am I was up, dressed and ready for my driving exam. Despite the nervous feeling, I felt this time was for sure. I was sat in the ‘Survey Corps driving school’ building, awaiting for my examiner to walk out of the door. A thin, old man with a bushy moustache was sat at the reception table. He kept drinking out of some sort of container – _I’m pretty sure it was alcohol, kind of ironic for a driving school._

The large double doors to my left swung open, and a woman approached me. Her dark hair was tied up in a short ponytail, a few strands dangling down by her cheeks. Her eyes were shielded by a large pair of glasses.

“Mr Bodt?” she questioned, scanning the room of kids my age attempting for their test. I rose from my chair.

“That’s me.” Before I could even say anything else she dashed over to me, grabbing my hand and dragging me out of the room, to the garage.

 

A black car was parked with several large ‘L’ plates stuck to the metallic bodywork. She literally forced me into the car, before jumping into the passenger side seat and staring at me with bulging eyes. _She’s very… hyperactive._

“My name in Hanji Zoe, I’ll be your driving instructor for today.”

“Hi…” I mumbled, kind of freaked out by the whole situation.

“No need to be shy Mr Bodt! I don’t bite!” _I’m not so sure about that…_

“Please, call me Marco.” I said, starting the engine.

“Marco…” she said, bringing a hand to her chin, pulling a thinking face. “Where have I heard that before? Doesn’t matter! GO MARCO GO!” She than shot up straight, eyes looking out of the windscreen. I pulled out cautiously as I heard a quiet ‘weeee’ come from my driving instructor. _Oh god, help me!_

About an hour later, I had returned to the centre. I climbed out of the car as Hanji had dashed around and now stood inches from my face. I instantly panicked. _Shit, I’ve messed it up again…_

She cracked a smile, before placing her glasses of her forehead, spraying back her hair.

“Congratulations. With only two minors, you’ve passed!” _THANK GOD!_

I smiled “Thank you.”

 

I followed her back into the reception to grab my paperwork. As I waited for it to be printed I glanced at the clock: 10:35 _Better text Maddy._

**To Maddy:**

**Guess who just got their driver’s license! Thanks for the advice last night! Watch out Marco Bodt is on the roads ;)**

 

A few moments later I received a reply

 

**From Maddy:**

**Glad I could help :D This causes for a celebration! Levi’s throwing a party for us on Saturday for our audition success; we’ll celebrate there too for you freckles :P**

 

I smiled to myself. I kind of couldn’t believe it. I happily tapped in a quick response as I saw Hanji head in my direction, paperwork in hand.

 

**To Maddy:**

**Haha, sounds great! See you there! :D wait what’s his address??**

 

I forced my phone into my jean pocket. I looked up to find Hanji once again, inches away from my face.

“You!” She shouted “You’re from that group on ‘Colossal talent’!”

“Err. Yeah. How did y-“

A loud scream interrupted me, as I saw Hanji jump up and fist-bump the air.

“Hanji! How did you know?” I asked, trying to calm her down. She stopped and stared at me.

“Wait you don’t know? She responded, as I felt my phone vibrate twice.

“Know what?” She grabbed my wrist, dragging me to the reception desk.

“PIXIS!” she started yelling at the old man sat behind the desk “Put the news on!” He turned slowly and sophisticatedly, grabbing the remote and turning on the small flat screen TV clamped to the wall. On screen, were two news reporters, sat on a leather red sofa. Underneath them, a banner scrolled across the bottom of the screen, with the latest stories one of which grabbed my attention:

 

_Wings Of Freedom - a band auditioning for colossal talent- went viral last night after a member of an audience posted a video online. The band: Jean, Marco, Maddy, Connie and Megan’s full audition will be aired on Saturday night._

My jaw was wide open with shock.

“See!” She laughed excitedly.

“Oh my god!” I smiled. _We were already a hit._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, as it was a little longer than the others. Obviously the next chapters will be out in the next month or two, due to delays through school work and Christmas holidays. Stay tuned, and again thanks :)


	7. Unexpected Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco spends the day with Jean, when his parents unexpectedly turn up to give him a surprise before heading off to Levi's party.

Believe it or not, but the few days following our audition flew by. For obvious reasons a vast majority of our time was now committed to band practice following the huge internet crave of our video that now had thousands of views and likes. However, despite this, Jean and I were able to spend some personal time together.

 

Saturday morning, I was happily led on my bed still in my pyjamas, phone in hand.

_I have to admit, Jean and I tended to text each other so much more recently._

We had been sending various stupid texts to each other since the crack of dawn, and I found myself pathetically caught up in him.

_I had to face it; I was in love with my best friend._

 

I sighed to myself, locking my phone and placing it on my bedside table.

 

I crossed my room, and headed into the kitchen, pouring myself a hearty bowl of cereal. I settled on my apartment sofa, and I visualised Jean sat next to me, draping his arm over my shoulders, in some cute little pair of glasses reading the newspaper or something, wearing nothing but a pair of box-

 

_My god man, pull yourself together!_

I slapped my forehead, trying to knock that image out of my mind. Before I could curse myself anymore, I heard my phone vibrate from my bedroom. I let out a large puff of air, before placing my bowl on the table, and heading towards the noise.

 

To my surprise the message itself was not from Jean, but it was a skype message from ‘DeChef24‘. I unlocked my phone and tapped at the link Maddy had sent me with the caption: ‘Holy crap! Look at this! xD’. As I clicked, my phone redirected me to the internet where a tumblr page was slowly but surely loading. When it finally decided to function properly I was presented with a blog page dedicated to ‘Wings of Freedom’.

_Woah!_

 

The page was plastered with pictures of us and various links to the performance as well as our personal accounts on social media – and of course, pink’s clever logo. Recently my amount of followers on Twitter rapidly increased following the popularity of the video and we’ve all received fan mail online. I laughed to myself, before closing the page.

_Fans really are incredibly sneaky._

I clutched my phone in my hand back to the sofa where I switched positions with it and my bowl of cereal. I then recived a message from Meg, and opened it whilst finishing the breakfast.

 

**From Meg**

**Isn’t it annoying when they just show up at your house? ;)**

 

_What?_

I guessed she was talking about Levi AGAIN, but that little winking face got me thinking… _What does she know?_ I decided to make sure I would ask her later.

For a brief moment I actually thought I would get a break from being an internet sensation and world famous band member, but I was sadly mistaken. Just as I was about to put a mouthful of cornflakes in my mouth, I was interrupted by a knock at the door. I sighed to myself, and glanced at the clock: 9:26am _probably the postman..._ I practically slammed the bowl onto the table, before shuffling over to the door. I twisted the golden knob, before pulling the door back fully, and to my surprise a recognisable person was stood opposite me.

“Jean?!”

“Did you miss me?” He smirked, pushing his way past me. I slapped my forehead again, before pushing the door shut. _Come in why don’t you..._

“Nice hair by the way freckles” He laughed as he flopped down at the sofa. Only then did I realise I haven’t at all got ready. My hair was in a scruffy style from sleep and I still was wondering around in my pyjamas. I felt my cheeks burn red from embarrassment, as I slowly walked back over to Jean, sitting in the space next to him, returning the bowl into my hand. _I am seriously questioning Meg later…_

“So, what are you doing here?” I asked, before shovelling a spoonful of breakfast into my mouth, determined not to be interrupted once again.

“Well.” He smiled “I felt like I would treat you to lunch today, as a type of congratulations on your driving.” _As much as I hated to admit it, my heart fluttered at that._ I smiled in response as my mouth was still crammed with cereal flakes and milk.

“But you’re gonna have to get ready first, I’m not being seen with you like that!” Jean joked, giving me a friendly nudge. I laughed to myself as I swallowed my food.

“Sounds great” I smiled, “I’ll go shower now, you going to be okay here for now?”

“I’m not going to be killed in your flat! Geez. I’ll just watch TV or something, you go ahead.” I placed the bowl still half full of cereal in the sink of my kitchen, before heading out into my bathroom, locking the door behind me.

 

I probably had the quickest shower of my life as I felt partly guilty of leaving Jean by himself. As I pulled the shower door open I heard a mumbled shout from the lounge: “C’mon that’s such a foul!” I laughed to myself, remembering Jean’s bad temper towards football matches. I swept my pyjamas off the floor into my wash basket and pulled down a blue fluffy towel from the towel shelves. I rapidly ruffled my hair with the material, before drying off the remainder of my body. As I pulled on a pair of boxers from the drawer, I suddenly became panicked.

“Where the hell is the laundry basket?!” I cursed to myself. I then remembered; I pictured the wooden basket containing my newly cleaned jeans and shirts placed next to the washing machine in the kitchen. _Shit!_ _Jean can’t see me in just my boxers!_

 

I walked cautiously unlocked the door, peering through a small gap. Jean was forcefully sat forward, staring at the TV screen. _Good, he won’t be distracted._ I took a deep breath, before quietly opening the door, and slowly began to walk around the back on the sofa. I felt little droplets of water dripping from my hair land on my shoulders, but I remained full focus on staying as quiet as possible. I weaved my way into the kitchen, pulling the first pair of jeans I could find out of the basket.

 

I quietly knelt down, still watching the back of Jean’s head as he focused on the game. I pulled one leg over my ankle, working its way up my leg, trying to prevent it getting stuck on my damp shin. As the material reached my thigh, I exchanged my weight onto my other leg, in order to pull up the other side of my trousers. As I vigorously tried to pull the material up the bottom of the leg got hitched onto my ankle. I tugged at it to get it over, but alternatively it made me lose my balance. I attempted to grab hold of the worktop, but instead, pulled down a mug from the side. A loud thud could be heard as I fell to the floor, which was followed by a sharp smash as the mug broke apart.

“What the FUCK?!” I heard Jean shout. I quickly wriggled the jeans up fully and did up the fly and button, just before Jean came over.

“Ma-Marco?” He stuttered. I glanced up, forcing a smile.

“Sorry Jean.” We remained in those positions for a few silent moments, as he just stared at me. _I actually felt a little awkward for a moment._

Then he seemed to snap back into reality.

“DUDE!” He laughed “You gave me a FUCKING heart attack! Don’t ever do that again!”

“I didn’t particularly mean to” I replied, cracking a smile.

“C’mon you idiot” He said, as he stretched out his arm, grabbing my hand, and pulling me to my feet. He patted me gently on the back. “Go put some clothes on! Otherwise I’ll go to lunch without you!” He joked. I laughed, pulling a white t-shirt from the basket out, and pulling it over my head. I grabbed my flat keys from the coffee table and raced Jean out of the doorway.

 

As we ran out the building front door, I got pushed by Jean into a hedge.

“HEY!” I shouted, as he almost collapsed to the ground in laughter.

“Every man for himself!” He smiled, before coming towards me, as I pulled myself from the various branches and leaves.

“You dick!” I smiled, as he nudged me. Before he could reply a loud voice interrupted us.

“MARCO! OH MARCO” I glanced in the direction on the noise to see two recognisable figures stood at the end of the pathway. My body filled with joy as I ran over to them, wrapping myself between the two.

“Mum, dad!” I said, pulling out of the hug “What are you doing here?!” My mother had water filling in the bases of her eyes, and my dad stood proudly next to her. Both of my parents had black hair, but only my father had freckles.

“You passed you test didn’t you son?” My dad bellowed a laugh. “We came to buy you a car.”

“WHAT!” I gasped “NO WAY!”

“Yes way” My mum answered, smiling brightly. “And who’s this young fellow?”

“Oh right” I said, recovering from the surprise. “Mum, dad this is my friend Jean.” I felt him walk up next to me, as he gave my father a sturdy handshake.

“Nice to meet you both” he said, rather formally.

“And you Jean” My father replied. I looked to Jean with a large grin on my face, and he mirrored the smile.

“Jean, do you want to come too? I know nothing about cars” I asked.

“And I do? Look at the rust-bucket I drive around.” He laughed

“Please?” I begged, giving him a friendly nudge.

“Urgh” he sighed “You’re not going to let me stay behind are you?”

“Nope” I laughed. “C’mon you can help me pick out a bad-ass car!”

“Fine” He said, as he cracked a smile.

“Great” My mother said, “Hop into our car and we’ll take you boys.”

 

On the way to the car garage we stopped at a nearby cafe for lunch. Jean and my mother almost had an argument in the middle of the store debating over if Jean would pay for his share of food. Of course, in the end my mother won and Jean didn’t have to pay anything. I thought it was rather sweet of him, he’d make a pretty good boyf-

_Marco. Stop._

 

As I took the last sip from my coffee, my mum and dad both walked away from the table to go to the bathroom and to pay the bill.

“You look so much like them Marco, it’s unbelievable.” Jean commented.

“Really?”

“Yeah. You have your dad’s freckles and your mum’s pretty eyes.”

“You think my eyes are pretty?” I asked, bashing my eyelashes at him.

“I- uh. Um Urgh...” He muttered, unsure of what to say. _I swear to god I saw him blush._

“No homo, am I right?” I smiled, although rather regrettably.

He laughed, pushing my face away with my hand. “Oh shut the fuck up”

 

I looked down at the table trying to hide my smile, and my blushing cheeks. After a moment or two, I returned my attentions to Jean to find him leaning on his hand, being supported by his elbow against the table, staring at me. Just staring right into my eyes.

 

I was unsure what to do, so glanced around his face, until I locked onto his eyes. His golden sharp eyes that hid so much more of the guy I knew. I found myself stuck in a trance, as was he. Neither of us moved, we just found ourselves intertwined in sight. I felt some small part ponder at the possibility, that perhaps he…

 

Of course, in the end our ‘moment’, if you will, was ruined as my mother returned to the table. Jean was obviously startled by my mother’s return and even nearly fell off of the chair he was sat on.

“Right you two, let’s go Marco a new car huh?” Mum asked a bright smile across her face.

“Yeah!” I smiled, before heading out shoulder to shoulder with Jean. _That was weird..._

 

Car shopping is exciting as it sounds; waddling around a concrete lot with various cars parked alongside each other ready for inspection. Although I was thoroughly eager to purchase a car, I found it incredibly dull at the same time - I think I would have lost all sanity if Jean was not there. In between, I made a quick phone call to Maddy to update her about the ‘life of freckles’, receiving several teasing attitudes to my commitment of time with Jean. In the end, with assistance from him, I had picked out the perfect car: a white Volkswagen golf. Mum and dad had no problem with the price and had even come up with a nickname within seconds of the final purchase. In their eyes my car was now christened as the angel, presumably due to the white colouring.

“Right then Marco, your father and I best be off.” My mother commented, as I excitedly sat behind the wheel of my new car.

“So soon?” I asked.

“I’m afraid so Marco, it takes a good several hours to get back to Jinae, and you know how much your mother hates driving in the dark.” My father added.

“Oh okay. Thank you both so much for my car!”

“Anything for my son!” My mother choked trying to hold back the tears.

 

_As much as she hated it, her only child was now old enough to drive and move on in life._

 

“Now come on Marion, let Marco and Jean go.” My father stated “He’s probably got more important things to do.”

_Of course, both of my parents having no idea how to use the internet were not yet aware of the phenomenon ‘Wings of Freedom’ had become, nor the fact we had auditioned._

“Well, Jean, it was a pleasure meeting you.”

“And you Mr and Mrs Bodt.” Jean replied. I turned to him giving a type of confused glare – _since when was he this fucking formal?_

 

I gave both my parents a quick hug before watching them join mid-town traffic, heading towards the motorway.

 

As we climbed back into the car, Jean exhaled heavily.

“What’s wrong with you?” I smiled.

“I don’t think I could have lasted any-longer without swearing” He laughed.

I cracked a smile. “Why were you so formal towards them?”

“God Marco, do you not know the rule? Always make a good impression with the parents.” He winked at me, with a smug look on his face. I stopped in my tracks.

 

_Was this just, friendly banter or was it actual... flirting?_

My confusion began to make my head spin and face heat up. I turned to my car for distraction and tried to clear my head.

“No homo Jean!” I laughed, staring the engine of my new car.

“You and you’re fucking no homo!” He teased, as I pulled away “It’s like you actually are gay, and just trying to cover it up!” _Oh dear god.._

 

_Even though he teased about it, it was like a stab. The guy I was best friends with, the guy I had a crush on just spoke about my true darkest secret without even the slightest idea that I was. This guy, this amazing, beautiful asshole was just messing with my head!_

“Marco?” Jean said, as he waved his hand inches away from my face, “You okay?”

I realised I was still staring ahead, and had my face screwed up a little. I sighed “Yeah I’m fine, just thinking about mum.”

“Hey! She’ll be fine. Besides, she’ll be over the moon that her special son is in the next stage of Colossal Talent.” He smiled.

“Special?” I grinned.

“And what!” Jean snapped. “Your special okay?! “ I laughed and almost didn’t hear the next thing he said.

“Special to me at least...”

 

I froze, thankfully by a red light. _Is this flirting again?_ I felt my heart skip a beat.

_Did I generally matter to him this much?! God dammit Jean...Please stop messing with me…_

“Vice versa” I managed to reply after a few seconds. He let out a confident smile, and looked towards the road, my face mirroring the colour of the red lights.

“What’s the time?” I asked, concentrating on the traffic in front. I saw him look down at his watch from the corner of my eye.

“Five thirty” He replied.

“Shit! We’re going to be late for Levi’s party!” I declared.

“Marco, I think I’m a bad influence on you” Jean laughed.

“Yeah!” I agreed, letting out a puff of air as a type of laugh. The remainder of the car journey was in comfortable silence. Although, my mind was still at war with itself, was Jean really flirting with me? He was driving me to insanity.

 

_He’s just some guy! It’s not worth it any-_

That was a lie, Jean Kirschtein was not just some guy, I had feelings a lot stronger than any normal crush for him, and if it were possible, even it took me to the ends of the earth, every moment with him would be worth more to me than anything else in creation.

 

We turned off of the main road, onto a strenuous long stone driveway. We were able to make out a small pair of red car back-lights from a vehicle in front, from the size and width apart, Jean was able to work out that it was Maddy in her little beige fiat. We followed her up, making the decision that we’d be better off getting lost with her than on our own.

“Woah!” Jean whispered to himself.

“What is it?” I asked, keeping eyes tracked on Maddy’s car.

“Can you not see that?!”

“See what?” Soon enough, my question was completely pointless, as we approached huge house, large enough to be classed as a mansion. We watched as Maddy pulled up next to Sasha’s car, and climbed out thoroughly investigating the exterior of the house.

 

As we drove closer, she must have heard the car approaching, as she turned to look at us. Of course, because of the darkness, she was unable to see who was inside. She leant forward, squinted through the night sky trying to discover the unknown guests and Jean leapt into action. He suddenly leant across my lap. I felt my cheeks burn red from blushing. _JEAN._

He punched the centre of the wheel, causing a loud horn to ring out, and making Maddy jump about 3 foot in the air. I couldn’t help myself, and burst out with laughter and was soon joined by Jean gasping for air from laughing for forcefully. I popped the door open, climbing out, soon followed by Jean. We smiled at Maddy, trying to hold back another laugh.

“Woah. Marco your cars lush!” She said, rushing over to the bonnet, inspecting the entire exterior of the car.

“I could say the same about Levi’s house.” I laughed, as I watched Jean stare at the house open-jawed.

“It’s fucking huge! You could fit the whole of our year from Maria in here!” He finally announced, still in obvious shock from the size of Levi’s house. I started walking towards the large oak double doors at the front of the house, soon followed by Maddy and Jean either side of me.

 

Just before we could knock, Meg swung the door open, too excitable for her own good.

“Oh my god! You guys are going to love this! There are lights and music and this giant chocolate fountain right in the middle of the buffet,”

She spoke so fast and she waved her arms around. “I swear Sash has already eaten half of it already I’m serious come and lo-“

At the mention of her name, Sasha soon appeared in the corridor leading to us. “Oi you! Levi was looking for you get back in here” She shouted, before disappearing back into the room she came from, dragging Megan as hostage. Jean, Maddy and I all exchanged confused looks, before Jean cracked a grin, before heading into the corridor – _he was going to enjoy this, WE were going to all enjoy this..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading. The next chapter was planned from the draft stage and is probably a huge plot twist in the story for you guys - so stay tuned for that ;) Again, apologies for the delays on posts. Working alongside the 'Pages' fanfic as well as school work is a bit tricky but it is capable, it just takes a little longer than normal- so thank you guys for your patience. 
> 
> Be sure to the read the other POVs if you haven't already and stay tuned for the upcoming chapters :) ~MadelineAmy Jayne~

**Author's Note:**

> The chapters pretty short, but the next ones will be more detailed and longer (hopefully). Thanks for any feedback, thanks for reading, and stay tuned for later chapters ;)


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